The Viking Sky vessel sent out a mayday signal after getting into difficulty in rough waters in the Norwegian Sea on Saturday putting almost 1,400 lives at risk. In a statement the Norwegian Maritime Authority said: “Our conclusion is that the engine failure was directly caused by low oil pressure. “The level of lubricating oil in the tanks was within set limits, however relatively low, when the vessel started to cross Hustadvika.”
Horrifying scenes showed the cruise ship swaying in treacherous conditions and was pictured listing at a 45 degree angle.
The regulator found the awful weather made the oil pumps stop working which triggered an alarm which forced the engines to fail.
Frantic crew members on board were then only able to restart one of its engines at a time, leaving the ship exposed to the life-threatening elements.
Following the SOS call at 2pm, Norway Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre reached the stricken ship and 479 people were airlifted to safety to the port of Molde.
Dozens of people were injured, including 36 who were taken to hospital.
Norwegian health officials said one person is being treated in intensive care but is in a stable condition.
Viking Ocean Cruises, which operates the ship, said it “welcomed the prompt and efficient investigation”
In a statement the operator added: “We have inspected the levels on all our sister ships and are now revising our procedures to ensure that this issue could not be repeated.”
The Viking Sky ship was built in 2017 and departed the port of Molde on Wednesday, March 20, bound for Tilbury in Essex on Tuesday, March 26.
The vessel has since been anchored at a shipyard in Kristiansund which is located 70 km (43.5 miles) away from where it set off whilst the investigation took place.